"Guards are stricter these days, huh?" I commented as I entered using the window of Duke Kayllon Heriondials office.
Duke Kayllon, seemingly standing by his table, was checking his face in the mirror. His Dark gray hair, paired with gold eyes, shimmers as the moonlight reflects in his mirror.
"Lucian. I expected your arrival," He replied as he walked towards a small door that leads to a secret chamber we usually use to converse about classified information.
Following him inside, I sat in one of the chairs at the round table
"What's the situation?" I asked.
"It's not looking good. As you already know. Louvelon's princess sank her boat around the coast of Bevisto County, Devion County, and Marquis Herons Marquisate." He opened a map.
"Marquis Heron had been actively searching around the coasts and even invading other counties just to find the missing princess."
"He's eager to dethrone me, huh? I haven't even sat on the throne yet."
"I know. I also found out, from one of the spies who tried to sneak into my dukedome, that Heron and Halplons been smuggling liquid into the empire."
"Liquid?"
"Yes. Black, Dark, Liquid. I don't know all the details, but the spy I caught died coughing up the same liquid when he tried disclosing information about it."
"Huh. So it's like an anti-leak information magic."
"Yes, but much more brutal than usual."
"Those that Dark liquid connects to the dark miasma that the Haplon kingdom had been collecting?"
"That, I suspect, it is. The only way to gather miasma is to collect directly at the monster source."
"But the Gorvel island is guarded by the Empire."
"That's right. But with the Marquis' help, the haplon kingdom won't have issues going back and forth collecting miasma."
"That damn geezer. Come to think of it. Why does the Crown Prince of Haplon want his ex-fiancée dead? If exile is what he wants, then he did an excellent job exiling her and creating chaos in the seas."
Duke Kayllon shook his head. "No. He doesn't want to exile her. Or to be exact, he made a mistake doing that."
"Huh, what do you mean?"
"According to the spy. The daughter of Duke Louvelon, Princess Misha Louvelon, is the major player in collecting and using the miasma."
"WHAT?!"
"I know I was surprised too."
"But if he needed the princess, why would he end their engagement? Bounty even says, dead or alive."
"Well, the funny part is that. The King of Haplon was unaware of the engagement being broken. It was the prince's Idiocracy that caused it on the night of their graduation ceremony. I heard the King ordered the Prince to capture the princess alive or dead because they needed her Body as a vessel."
"Vessel? Are they saying that even at death, they want to use her?"
"The haplon kingdom is a kingdom that doesn't care about gods' ethics or the lives of the people. You should already know that."
"I know"
"With that said. We can't let Heron get to the princess before us. If shes alive. We can strike a deal with her. He ran away, right? Means she knows one thing about the situations in the kingdom. If shes dea-"
"We'll dispose of her body," I continue.
"It might be a brutal act to deny even a funeral to a noble. But we can't let her body become the vessel that will destroy the empire, or worse, the vessel that will destroy the world."
"That's right."
"Anyways, now that you're here. I guess I can ask you to do something for me."
"What is it?"
The moment I asked. The door of the chamber swung open. A Young man with Blond hair and ruby eyes entered the room.
"Father! Just let me help already!" Marxyllon shouted as he entered the room.
Pinching his nostrils, Duke Kayllon faced his son. "How many times have I told you not to open the chamber uninvited?"
"I apologize, but I really just want to help. This is the Empire my future dukedom stands! I can't just let them do what they want, whenever they want!" Marxyllon shouts again
"Stop shouting! This is a closed chamber!" Duke Kayllon shouted back
They're really father and son.
"Ugh, my ear hurts."
"Oh, Lucian, I didn't notice you there," Marxyllon replied as he approached me. "Father, if you're going to ask Lucian to do something for you, then let me go too. I'll join Lucian." He added as he grabbed my shoulder.
"You do realize that I wasn't trying to stop you from the start; it's your mother who is stopping me from ordering you around," Duke Kayllon replied.
Marxyllon pouted. "Then, if I asked mother and she agreed, would you let me join Lucian in investigating the disappearance of the Louvelon princess?"
"Do what you want," Duke Kayllon sighed.
Marxyllon's eyes light up. "I'll be back!" He ran faster than he came.
It's almost comical to claim that Marxyllon is Duke Kayllon's biological son. Their personalities couldn't be more different. The Duke carried an air of mystery, while Marxyllon radiated warmth and approachability.
"Is he really your son?"
"He is."
After a while of waiting, Marxyllon came back with a beaming smile.
"Duchess Rosana's genes are strong in this one, huh?" I commented. The Duke could only pinch his temple.
"Anyway, continuing with our discussion. Sit down, Marx."
Marx sat beside me. We both face the duke in front. The Duke pulls out a box. He rolls out a map, laying it on the table.
"As you can see here, Marquis Heron's been actively searching beyond the points I had circled."
"That's a lot of place to check," Marx replied
"Yet he still didn't find the princess."
"What if the princess is already dead and eaten by the oceanic monsters?"
"Then there's no point in your leaving the Dukedom today."
"Argh, no, no! She's alive, I'm sure of it."
The Duke sighs.
"Mesiah is one of the village, Heron searched, right?" I asked
"That's right. Mesiah village might be a little bit far from the coast. But the village is connected to the coast by the forest."
"Oh, the famous Berry forest? I heard the berries around the forest taste mythical." Marxyllon happily exclaimed.
"That's right."
"But they found no clues about the princess?" I asked
"Yes. Strangely enough, even in the forest, they found no one. But according to my people, they found human trails going into the forests. Brokers told them that it is normal for villagers to enter the forest to collect berries."
"Is that so..."
"Hmm, but that's weird," Marxyllon remarked. "As far as I know, the berry season will happen in the next six months. Why would the townsfolk enter the forests full of crawling monsters for berries that haven't even bloomed yet?"
Marxyllon's remarks made a lot of sense.
"That's true. Berry season is the only time Monsters are driven away from the forests because of the smell of the berries. It is indeed weird for the townfolks to enter the forest, afterall, it might attract monsters into the village." Duke Kayllon added.
"Also, I heard, didn't the daughter of Count Bevisto marry a farmer in the village? What was his name again? It was a color, so it's pretty easy to remember." Marxyllon adds to the information
"Oh, that's right, it's a well-known topic two jero ago. When the daughter of Bevisto, Lady Leila Bevisto, eloped with a commoner named Robert Green, who is a farmer in the village."
huh. Green?
"Oh, yeah, that one. Mother's been talking about that for a month, telling me if I'm going to elope, I'd better bring the cat with me."
"Don't you dare bring the cat with you."
"What! You care about the cat more than me eloping?!"
"It might not be noticeable, but you have my genes. So I won't be surprised if you decide to elope with your lover. Look at me, I eloped with your mother, and guess where I am now? a duke living happily with my family, away from Royal throne drama."
"You do realize that I'm here, yeah?" I exclaimed.
"Ehem, back to the point. It is suspicious for human trails to appear in the area if the village folks don't have any reason to linger around."
"They might be just looking inside. It's still a forest, yes? which is accessible to anyone, even to Marquis Heron's henchmen." Marxyllon refuted his father's idea.
Continuing their discussion, a question hits me.
"Wait, wait. Lady Bevisto and Mr. Green married 2 jero ago? Yes?" The two of them nod. "Then how the hell did they manage to give birth to a young man almost the same age as me?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about their son. Leciro Green"
"Who?" Both of them look at me curiously
"Leciro Green, a young man with white hair and purple eyes, said he was a traveler from Mesiah Village. He looks 18 or older to me."
"Huh? That's weird, as far as my mother told me, Lady Leila is Infertile."
"Then maybe he's from another Green family?" I asked again.
"No, there's no other Green's in the village. Did you forget what happened in the court a jero ago? The time Count Bevisto asked the Emperor to allow him to name a young man so his daughter wouldn't have to marry a no-name man."
"Wait, that was that?"
"Yes, it was 'Green'. I remember it well. Count Bevisto explained that Green is the color of Lady Leila's favourite berry, which grows around the village." The Duke explained.
Just because of that?
Suddenly, the door swung open again. Revealing an elegant woman entering the room. She has long blond hair and ruby eyes. It was the duchess. She smiled at me as she spoke
"Lady Leila was a lady of elegance with a kind heart. I heard that because she's infertile, they adopted a child from the orphanage in the village. A cute 6-jero-old child named Cielo." Sharing her information with us.
"Rosana, what happened, dear?" The duke hurriedly assisted the duchess.
"Oh, nothing much. It's just that the supper is ready, but everyone is gone, so I decided to come and get you all."
"Is that so? I'm sorry, dear." Duke Kayllon apologizes as he hugs the Duchess.
Lovey-dovey as always, huh.
"Wait- if what Mother said is true, then who the hell is Leciro Green?" Marxyllon asked as he pointed at me.
"Bad child! Don't point at the crown prince!" Duchess Rosana said as she slapped Marxyllon's hand. He could only pout at the duchess.
"But Marx is right," The duke interrupted them, rubbing his wife's hand. "Who is this Leciro you're talking about, and where did you even meet him?" he followed.
"I met him here, in the Herion Capital, when I arrived earlier in the day. He said he's a traveler from Mesiah village and that it's his first time traveling."
"Don't you think he was a spy following you?"
The duke's question makes me recall that person's face.
"No, I don't think so."
"But he is indeed suspicious, yes? A week after the missing princess had sunk her ship. A human trail appeared in the forest, villagers entering the forests not even in berry season, and then a random person named Leciro Green appeared in the area." Marxyllon connects all the information we gathered.
"What does he look like again?" The duke asked
"White hair, with purple-"
"Amethyst-like eyes?" The duchess interrupted
"Uh, yes, the purple eyes sparkle like Amethyst, why?"
"Then that's her. That's the princess. Leciro Green is the princess." The Duchess happily exclaimed as if she already solved the mystery.
"What do you mean, dear? Mother?" the duke and his son asked in unison.
"You know, Noble Ladies of the court love to gossip, yes?"
We all nodded
"We love gossiping about unique individuals—like the Princess of Louvelon. You see, purple eyes aren't rare, but the Amethyst truly is! Back in my youth, many ladies dreamed of marrying Duke Louvelon, just to acquire that dazzling amethyst shine!"
"What! So you wanted to marry another duke?! Not only that, but he's also from the other continent!" Duke Kayllon shouted
"What, no, no, that's them, not me." The duchess touched the duke's face. "I love your golden honey dripping eyes, darling," the duchess explained, which made the duke smile
"Yuck, go to another room, will you?" Marxyllon exclaimed
"Okay, so. Wait, that means. Leciro Green and the Princess are the same person. I need to find her!" I stood up
"Let's go, she should still be around the capital!" Marxyllon excitedly follows me.
"Ah, no, no, no." The duchess stopped us.
"What? But you already allowed me to come with Lucian?"
"I'm not stopping you because of that. It's just, supper is already here, we should eat."
"Apologies, Duchess, but it is of high importance that I talk with the princess-"
"It's night! The princess is already asleep!" the duchess cut me off. "If you saw her as a man earlier, then that means she has been disguising herself successfully. If you suddenly entered her bedroom at night, that would only frighten her!" She reprimanded us.
"But---"
"No buts! Follow me!" The duchess firmly ordered.
We could only sigh as the duchess walked out of the room
"Just do what Rosana says. The princess has been successfully blending in with the people around the capital. She'll be fine for now. If we move tonight, we'll only draw unwanted attention from the other factions," the duke explained.
The duke and the duchess did make a lot of sense, although-
"You just don't want your wife angry, huh?"
Marxyllon replied with a grimace, "Eww."
"Both of you will understand soon enough."
The three of us had no choice but to follow the duchess.
As we walked down the hallway, I glanced at the window where the moonlight shimmered through the glass.
Fine. But when morning comes, I will find her, strike a deal with her, and put an end to Marquis Heron and the Haplon kingdom.